COVID-19 schedule changes and the NBL Cup have meant overseas and NBL players were unavailable so Basketball Centre of Excellence coach Adam Caporn will lead a mix of COE and NBA academy players in their first full internationals with almost all of them aged under 20.
Daniels,17,is an athletic 197-centimetre point guard who is still growing and possesses elite defensive skills along with the ability to drive to the basket and create for teammates.
Like Simmons,Exum,Patty Mills and Adelaide 36ers teenager Josh Giddey,he will get to make his first Boomers start as a teenager and he is still a year away from having to make big calls about whether to purse US college basketball or a professional career in the NBL or even the NBA.
But what he is most excited about is the chance to become a full Boomers international.
“It’s one of my lifetime goals,this is what I live for,to play for my country at the highest level and I’m looking forward to getting into it,” Daniels said.
Caporn has worked with Daniels for over 18 months at the COE,where their squad and the NBA academy are based,while Caporn said any comparisons to No. 1 pick and NBA All-Star Simmons were a high mark and premature,he praised Daniels for his attitude and commitment.
Daniels is the son of long-time NBL1 import Ricky Daniels,who had his number retired at Bendigo Stadium after a decorated career in the second-tier of Australian basketball then remained in Bendigo to raise his three sons,with Dyson the middle child.